While counseling individual children is viewed by many as the most important function of an elementary counselor, little research has been done on the outcome of this counseling. This study was designed, to determine whether counseling affects student behavior in terms of: (1) academic performance, (2) peer relationships, and (3) personal adjustment. The investigators also wished to determine whether methods used in this study were appropriate for measuring counseling outcomes. Subjects were fifth and sixth graders in six schools. Each subject was rated on the Teacher Rating Scale and completed the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT) (Intermediate Battery) and the California Test of Personality. (CPT). A sociogram for each of the 12 classrooms involved was completed. A total of 120 subjects were then chosen together with six counselors. Those in the experimental group received counseling while those in the control group did not. Conclusions and implications include that counseled students appeared, at least in teachers' eyes, to improve significantly. There were no significant differences between the experimental and control groups in their growth on the MAT or the CPT. It is possible, however, that standardized tests are not sensitive enough to pick up immediate behavioral change while teachers and peers might. (KJ)